This invention relates to agricultural bale accumulators which are devices trailed behind mobile agricultural crop balers during the baling operation thereof and which are operable to accumulate a plurality of bales in side-by-side relationship and then dump or discharge the given parcel of bales on the ground for subsequent pick-up for transportation to another location.
The invention has been conceived with the so-called medium sized bale in mind which measures in the order of 0.6 m.times.0.9 m.times.1.2 to 2.4 m and weighs 300 to 600 kg. However, it will be apparent from the description and claims which follow that the invention is not limited to bale accumulators for balers producing medium sized bales and can, in fact, be utilized with great effectiveness in conjunction with so-called large square balers producing bales of up to 1000 kg, as well as with small, conventional square balers.
Agricultural balers are in common use and operate to pick-up and compress crop material, such as hay, straw, etc., into bales and wrap completed bales with wire or twine. Wrapped bales are ejected periodically from the bale chamber of a baler as the latter travels over the field and each bale, on being ejected, normally is discharged directly to the ground.
In order to make the overall baling and bale hauling operation more efficient, it has already been proposed to provide a bale accumulator which is arranged to receive successive bales as they are discharged from a baler and to accumulate the bales into a group or parcel and then discharge the parcel to the ground. A few examples of known bale accumulators are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,272,352; 4,310,275; 4,215,964 and French Patent No. 1,471,621.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,272,352 discloses a bale accumulator which automatically accumulates bales in predetermined parcels and then automatically discharges the parcels. In this arrangement, each parcel is made up of bales standing on their ends in side-by-side relationship. Discharge of a parcel of bales is accomplished by using the weight of the parcel to tilt the floor of the accumulator. In this manner, the bales slide off in successive rows as the machine advances and are deposited, single fashion, on the ground. However, the manner in which the bales are deposited on the ground makes subsequent collection of the parcel of bales by mechanical means difficult, if not impossible.
The aforementioned accumulator is used in conjunction with a conventional baler producing small rectangular bales and having a bale chamber disposed generally to one side of the machine. The load bed upon which the bales are accumulated is disposed in offset relationship to one side of the bale chamber and yet this accumulator has a width extending beyond both opposed sides of the baler as seen in a fore-and-aft direction.
A similar bale accumulator for a baler having a bale chamber generally to one side of the machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,275. In operation of this arrangement, bales are received in pairs on a bale-receiving table which is generally aligned with the bale chamber and which is pivotally mounted on the frame of the machine for movement to a bale-transfer position to place successive bales on a load bed which again is disposed in a generally offset relationship to one side of the bale chamber.
In the arrangements according to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,272,352 and 4,310,275, the given width of the implement is not efficiently used for accumulating the maximum number of bales in side-by-side relationship.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,964 discloses a different form of bale accumulator in which the accumulator is placed symmetrically with respect to the bale chamber of the baler with bales issuing from the bale chamber first being disposed to one side an then to the opposite side of the accumulator on respective side platforms which are pivotable to dump pairs of bales collected thereon. The bales of a pair of bales accumulated and dumped with this accumulator thus are dumped on the ground at spaced apart locations and thus do not form a compact parcel adapted for subsequent mechanical handling.
In all of the aforementioned bale accumulators, the load bed or table is pivotable to assume an inclined position for discharging the bales ot the ground under gravity. However, it is also known from French Patent No. 1,471,621 to provide a fixed load bed on an accumulator. A discharge conveyor is provided on the floor of the load bed and is operable to discharge bales in a rearward direction after a tailgate has been opened.